For the vast majority of humanity, WhatsApp is an instant messaging service. However, for Meta, it is another business unit of the company and as such we’re talking partly about a very successful service and partly about another… well, much less so. If we start with its achievements, today it is still the most widespread service in its category and for many people the only one known for this purpose. He cooperates in it, of course, that he was the first, but it is no less true that he has managed to stay on top over the years.

Although this is undoubtedly a successful service, there is something that is still an open issue and that is its monetization model. Since its inception in 2009, before and after it became owned by Meta (then Facebook), its executives explored several ways to achieve profitability that has so far resisted becoming a reality.

It’s nothing new that has been around for a long time Meta is exploring ways to turn WhatsApp into a profitable serviceand one of the most common ways to do this is to turn the service into a shopping platform, a space where shops can offer their products and services, with WhatsApp providing payment systems if necessary. And it seems like a smart move, even more so considering that WeChat has been doing the same thing for some time and with great success in China.

So Meta today announced an agreement with JioMart, an Indian grocery retailer, which will enable the company sell directly to end customers via WhatsApp. Thanks to this integration, customers will be able to access the catalog of products for sale, make a purchase, make a payment and choose a delivery address. JioMart will also manage all communications with customers, barring exceptions, through WhatsApp.

The choice of India is not accidental, as of the 2,000 million WhatsApp users in the world, approximately one-fifth, 400 million, are in the Asian subcontinent. However, also it is an indication of what we can expect in the medium term in the rest of the world. Meta has been investing in WhatsApp Business for some time precisely to improve business operations through the platform. Something that would further explain the more than significant increase in work to develop and implement new features.